This invention relates generally to flexural pivots and particularly to a multi-piece flexural pivot which is more tolerant to vibration and shock loading than prior art flexural pivots.
Prior art flexural pivots are fabricated by brazing four quadrants, inner and outer flexural members, and a sleeve into a flexural (flex) pivot assembly. The described arrangement has a plurality of brazed joints which are prone to fracture when the pivot is subjected to vibration and shock loading. Failures in which individual quadrants of the four quadrants separate from the flexural members and outer sleeve, or in which the pivot core separates from the outer sleeve, by fracturing at the brazed joints are common.
Another problem encountered with brazed flex pivots using an outer sleeve is a condition called "bridging." Bridging occurs when the braze material used to join the pivot and core to the outer sleeve flows into an undercut area of the pivot and hence prevents flexing.
Flex pivots of the type suffering from these disadvantages are described, for example, in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,073,584; 3,142,873; 3,142,888; 3,181,851; 3,181,918; 3,319,951; and 3,811,665.
Further, the manufacturing processes for these prior art flex pivots are lengthy and include a variety of expensive, labor intensive operations. The resulting flex pivot has a high cost and a long manufacturing lead time. This prevents the flex pivot from being used in many applications where it would otherwise be advantageous.